On Saturday 26th January, the Norwich School team won the Independent Schools Mock Trial Competition at the Crown Court in Birmingham. The competition, run by Young Citizens, is an excellent opportunity for pupils from across the UK to learn about the criminal justice system whilst working on cases written by partners in the legal profession.
The team was made up of 13 pupils from the Upper Fifth and Sixth Form, who had taken part in auditions held at Norwich Crown Court back in September. Many of them are interested in the legal profession as a future career path. After three rounds of cases against schools from Manchester, Cardiff, Oxford and Birmingham, playing both the parts of prosecution and defense, Norwich School were chosen by the judges as finalists. Appearing in front of the 5 judges from Birmingham Crown Court didn’t deter the Norwich School team and in the final they beat Alderley Edge School for Girls to be crowned 2019 winners.
Dr Richard Clark, Deputy Head of Co-Curricular at the school, was very supportive of the event. “The pupils were outstanding and very inspired by the day” he said. “Many thanks to Katharine Bundell, a Barrister at Fenners, who dedicated a lot of her time to mentoring our pupils. They learnt a lot from her and the experience.”
Katharine Bundell added, “This competition is a unique opportunity for pupils to take part in very realistic trials as advocates, witnesses, clerks, ushers, reporters and artists. The skills they develop over the term are of wide-ranging application. The most rewarding part for us, however is watching their excitement in working as a team on the day. They didn’t stop talking, all at once, all the way back from Birmingham’
The school is already looking forward to next year’s competition, with the hope to take even more pupils to play the roles of court reporters and court artists.
